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Cuban Tree Snail or Painter's Snail

Polymita picta (Born 1778)

 

 
Cuban tree snail (Polymita picta): Maisi, Cuba.
Photo: Miguel Ernesto Suárez Blancart (iNaturalist).
Contents

Introduction

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Cuban tree snail (Polymita picta): Maisi, Cuba.
Photo: Miguel Ernesto Suárez Blancart (iNaturalist).		  
Polymita picta: Maisi, Cuba.
Photo: Miguel Ernesto Suárez Blancart (iNaturalist).		  
Hardly any other terrestrial snail species in the world is as colourful as Polymita picta: Their glossy shells look like they were painted by an artist - in radiant yellow, red, orange and pink, or in artful combinations with stripes and bands. This beauty makes them a symbol of Cuban nature, but also a target for collectors, rendering them, alas, a threatened species.

 
Cuban tree snail (Polymita picta): Maisi, Cuba.
Photo: Armante Darmarin (iNaturalist).
Systematics

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Polymita picta, also known as Cuban painter's snail or Oriente tree snail (Oriente is the eastern part of Cuba, cf. Distribution), is a medium size terrestrial pulmonate snail from the Cepolidae family (formerly Helminthoglyptidae). It is the type species of the Polymita genus and is exclusively found in the eastern part of Cuba.

Gastropoda Stylommatophora Helicina Helicoidea Cepolidae Polymita Polymita picta (Born 1778).

Source: MolluscaBase eds. (2025): Polymita picta (Born, 1778).

Interestingly, Polymita picta was first described by Ignaz von Born 1774 as Helix picta, in the same book he also used the genus name Cornu in for the brown garden snail (later named Cornu aspersum the Cornu problem): "Index rerum naturalium Musei Cæsarei Vindobonensis".

Born, I. Von. (1778). Index rerum naturalium Musei Cæsarei Vindobonensis. Pars I.ma. Testacea. 1-458,  Vindobonae (Vienna). (Link).

Description

Polymita shells reach a size of up to about 20 mm. The are glossy, very colourful and mostly bright yellow with whitish bands. The species is, however, noted for its shell polymorphism: There are numerous colour variants, the shell colour varying based on the snails' food sources. The large diversity of Polymita snails probably is a protection mechanism to confuse predators or to pretend the snail to be poisonous.

Habitat and Distribution

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Polymita picta: Puente de Yumurí, Guantánamo, Cuba.
Photo: Rappman (iNaturalist).		  
 
Distribution area of the genus Polymita on the island of Cuba.
Source: Emilio Jorge Power: Distribution Area of Polymita picta.
The spcies is endemic to eastern Cuba, especially around the Alexander-von-Humboldt national park, which reaches from the mountains until the island's northeastern coast. Polymita picta mainly lives on trees (arboreally) in coastal habitats of subtropical forests and prefers certain tree species, among them the Hicaco tree (Chrysobalanus icaco), varieties of Poisonwood (Metopium toxiferum, Metopium brownei), rubber trees such as the Gumbo Limbo tree (Bursera simaruba), as well as the Hicaquillo tree (Coccoloba retusa).

Emilio Jorge Power: Distribution Area of Polymita picta.

Ecology

The Cuban tree snails' food source mainly consists of lichens, mosses and fungus growth (biofilm) on bark and on leaves. The leaves themselves, as well as the trees' bark, are not eaten by the snails.

Polymita-snails grow to become about 2 - 3 years of age. The life cycle lasts about 15 months: Mating takes place during the rainy season from September to October. The dry season from December to the beginning of May, the snails mainly spend in aestivation.

Reproduction

Like most terrestrial pulmonate snails, Polymita picta snails are hermaphrodites, albeit they are unable to self-fertilize. Like other members of the Helicoidea superfamily (cf. Systematics), they use a love dart during mating. The mating process takes place in three phases: Mating ritual, copulation and post-copulation.

Predators

 
Polymita picta: Guantánamo, Cuba.
Photo: Francisco Martínez Nieto (iNaturalist).
Polymita are prey to a multitude of vertebrates and invertebrates, among them birds and rats. The most common predator is a raptor, the Cuban kite (Chondrohierax uncinatus wilsonii), present locally where Polymita species are available as food source. This raptor species mainly feeds on terrestrial snails, tree-dwelling species as well as ground-dwelling ones. The kite is so skilled in pulling the snails' soft bodies from their shells that those remain largely undamaged. Under the raptors' lookouts, usually heaps of empty shells are to be found.

In Cuba, the Cuban kite mainly feeds on tree snails, in Grenada and other places, it also feeds on larger snail species. Contrary to the snail kites of the genus Rostrhamus, it is less specialized, since it also feeds on frogs, salamanders, insects and caterpillars.

The biggest enemy of Polymita species, as usual, are humans: Due to unlimited construction projects on Cuba, many habitats literally are bulldozed and destroyed. In the end, the resulting habitat destruction is the most severe threat to Polymita snails, since their distribution area, by any measure, is not large. (cf. Distribution).

Emilio Jorge Power: Polymita Ecology Page.

Threat and Protection

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The stunning shells of Polymita snails are highly sought after by collectors and traders, and also are manufactured into jewellry and art. As a consequence, the species is severely threatened. Since 1943, Polymita picta has been legally protected in Cuba: Exporting snails is strictly forbidden by law, except for scientific purposes.

Literature

 Links

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Latest Change: 26.09.2025 (Robert Nordsieck).